Even though I write for a living, I don’t profess to be particularly adept at always selecting the proper word that has the exact meaning I’m attempting to convey. That very point was driven home last week when I was asked by my 16-year-old daughter, Anna, to give a quick read to a school assignment she’d written.

“I need another word for ‘bad.’ My teacher doesn’t like it when we use that word,” she said.

My point is that while there may be a number of potential synonyms for the word “bad,” one still needs to know the context in order to come up with the proper word.

Last week I read an article in which the word “heroic” was used that left me scratching my balding head as I contemplated if another word would have been better suited.

A video entitled “Pig rescues baby goat” was posted on YouTube last Wednesday. It had already attracted a couple of hundred thousand views by Saturday. The video taken at a petting zone features images of a small swine swimming out to a squealing baby goat whose foot was stuck under a rock. The pig nudges the goat enough to free it from its predicament, after which both animals swim to shore.

The article hails the porker for its “heroic instincts.” Heroic? Hmmm! I guess I have a little trouble using a word like “heroic” in regard to the pig’s actions, or any animal’s life-saving actions.

In the write up about the video it is noted that after exiting the water the pig “acts as if nothing much just happened.” Nor would I expect this little piggy to get out of the water and take a bow, sign autographs, or do anything that would indicate it could contemplate the actions it had just taken were significant in some way. And that’s exactly my point. When a pig, or any animal for that matter, puts its life on the line to save another animal, or even a human, can its actions be called “heroic” since there is no apparent level of consciousness that their actions could have had dire consequences for them?

Page 2 of 2 - When a soldier throws his or her body on a live grenade to save others, that’s a heroic act. The soldier knows what the cost will be, but does it anyway.

When a firefighter charges into a burning building to pull someone out, that’s a heroic act because he or she is aware they’re putting their life on the line.

When a police officer braves a hail of bullets to pull someone out of harm’s way, that is a heroic act.

When someone ventures into a Muslim country to share the good news of Jesus Christ, I would submit that is also a heroic act, considering the potential consequences.

When a ham on hooves saves the life of a goat, its selfless actions are indeed a point of curiosity and wonder. But a word like “heroic” should be reserved for those who understand the risks of their actions and make a conscious decision to take them anyway.